No. 5 Vanderbilt added a necessary win to its resume as a potential No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament with an 86-70 win over No. 4 Texas on Thursday night.
Vanderbilt jumped out to a 27-15 first-quarter lead and never trailed throughout the game. Though Texas cut the lead to 11 in the fourth quarter, Vanderbilt closed it out, remaining perfect on its home floor this season.
Sophomore Mikayla Blakes was outstanding in the victory, finishing with a game-high 34 points — her ninth 30-plus-point game this season and her fourth consecutive. Through SEC play, as Blakes has led the Commodores to their best start in program history, more attention has come her way in conversation for the national player of the year, and deservedly so. Her performance against the Longhorns is one more feather in her cap.
The win was massive for the Commodores’ NCAA Tournament resume. If it comes down to it, that Texas and Vanderbilt are going head-to-head for the fourth No. 1 seed, it could get interesting. Though the Commodores now have the head-to-head result, the Longhorns have other factors that could still push them ahead. Texas has a 76-65 win over UCLA and a 66-64 win over South Carolina in non-conference play. The Longhorns and Commodores lost to the Gamecocks in SEC play, but Texas’ loss was by just three points while Vanderbilt’s was a whopping 29-point deficit.
The committee certainly considers lopsided losses, so it’s notable that Texas’ worst loss this season is its 16-point loss to the Commodores, and its other two losses came by an average of four points. Regardless, Vanderbilt needed this win over Texas to keep their March Madness seeding in their control, and the Commodores got it.
Mikayla Blakes delivers the dagger 🗡️
Oh, and that’s her fourth 30-point performance IN A ROW. pic.twitter.com/DEUz7hCXrN
— Vanderbilt WBB (@VandyWBB) February 13, 2026
Vanderbilt started hot early from beyond the arc, knocking down four first-quarter triples, and finishing with 47 percent shooting from behind the arc, its second-best 3-point shooting performance this season in a win. Given the Longhorns’ limited 3-point shooting, those buckets mattered even more as Vanderbilt built a lead. The Commodores’ ability to clean up on the glass (outrebounding Texas, 40-37) allowed them to command the second half after they cooled off from the floor.
Point guard Aubrey Galvan put on an emphatic performance in her own argument for national freshman of the year. Though she wasn’t a top-100 recruit per ESPN’s rankings, the Illinois native has made an undeniable mark on the Commodores this season. Her 18-point, five-assist and eight-rebound outing was arguably her best all-around game this season.
If Vanderbilt moves to the No. 4 spot in the AP poll this weekend, it’ll be the Commodores’ highest ranking since the end of the 2002 season, when they finished the year at No. 4.
What does this mean for the SEC standings?
The Commodores remain in second place in the SEC with the win, trailing only South Carolina. However, the third- to fifth-place positions in the SEC could see a shakeup as early as this weekend. With the loss, Texas ties with LSU for fourth place in the SEC. Texas plays third-place Tennessee this weekend in Knoxville while LSU hosts South Carolina in Baton Rouge on Sunday. With the top four seeds in the SEC getting a double bye in the SEC Tournament, the jockeying between fourth and fifth place can have a significant impact.
Vanderbilt closes out its regular season with three of its four opponents ranked in the AP top-25: No. 18 Kentucky, No. 23 Alabama and No. 22 Tennessee. Texas plays just two more ranked games against No. 22 Tennessee and No. 23 Alabama.